Kim White Says Her Focus Will Be Supporting Police And Bringing In Jobs

Supporting police and bringing in jobs to Chattanooga will be points of emphasis if Kim White wins the mayoral election. She told the Civitan Club she believes her experience within government and the River City Company have prepared her for that role.

“We know our issues are bigger than downtown, and bigger than River City’s mission,” Ms. White said. “I’ve been blessed to make a difference in a bigger way. At this time, we’re at a critical crossroads and we need a proven leader  who has experience meeting a payroll, running a business, partnering and working with city government.”

She told the Civitans she has support from both police unions, and that she wants to give police more resources, not less. She said she would like to see police out in the community and interacting with citizens in situations that don’t involve arrests or enforcing the law. Ms. White also said Youth and Family Development centers need to be supported in order for crime to go down in Chattanooga.

“How do we support our first responders, and they need more police support, not less,” Ms. White said. I’ve been in every community, and none have said they want fewer first responders.  Chief Roddy will say he doesn’t have a perfect police team, but he’s been really upfront with how they work with the community and be a part of it.”

She said her background in development and contacts within the construction business should help her lessen the affordable housing issue in Chattanooga. She said real estate is running out, and people are flocking to the city. She pointed to roads as part of the city’s infrastructure that needs to be addressed.

“I’m prepared to put $3 million more in the budget for paving roads and we need to work with TDOT,” Ms. White said. “Make sure that we focus on paving. I feel like we can make a difference with our infrastructure.”

One of her focus points was also bringing in businesses to the Chattanooga area. She told the Civitan Club members she would like to “streamline” how the government works with prospective businesses in the future. She said Chattanooga is losing industry to Red Bank, Ooltewah and East Ridge.

“I’ve seen first-hand and know what doesn’t work, and we’ve become a very difficult city to do business with,” Ms. White said. “I can’t tell you how many businesses and contractors have said they’re not going to do anything until we get that right. How do we streamline processes and have a more lean organization?”

Ms. White said both during the presentation and after that she does not support raising property taxes within Chattanooga.  Several Civitan members also asked Ms. White about her political affiliation, and the candidate told them she was running on an apolitical platform. She said Chattanooga’s issues require cooperation from people on both sides of the political spectrum.

“Governing a city is difficult, and those issues do not have a D or an R next to them,” Ms. White said. “With good mayors, you shouldn’t be able to tell. I’m not going in as a Democrat or a Republican. I have a lot of strong Democrats and Republicans on my team.”